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Introduction and objective: Italy is a country with a low incidence of tuberculosis and in the last fifty years the annual number of TB cases decreased from 12,247 to 4,418, showing a reduction of approximately 64% in the number of cases and 71% in incidence. Despite of this encouraging trend, in the last years the epidemiology of tuberculosis changed and today it is a re-emerging infectious. The aim of this study is to measure the prevalence of positivity to tuberculosis infection (latent TB) in students, without any obvious manifestation of disease, attending degree courses of the health care professions and postgraduate medical courses of the School of Medicine of the University of Palermo, Italy. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional observational study in students of nursing, midwifery, dentistry degree courses and in resident physicians of postgraduate medical schools was carried out from January 2012 to July 2016. Mantoux test was performed and all positive cases were tested with Interferon-Gamma Release Assay (IGRA). Results: Of the 1,351 subjects evaluated, 25 (1.8%) resulted positive to Mantoux test; in 17 students (1.2%) the diagnosis was confirmed with IGRA. Positive cases were significantly more frequent among students attending Postgraduated Medical School Courses (p

Introduzione: Il rischio stress lavoro-correlato è uno degli obiettivi della valutazione e prevenzione dei rischi occupazionali negli operatori sanitari (O.S.). I medici in formazione specialistica (MIFS) rappresentano una tipologia di OS sovrapponibile ai dirigenti medici in termini di esposizione lavorativa e quindi di insorgenza di sindromi da stress lavoro-correlato. Obiettivi: Obiettivo dello studio è valutare un set di fattori di rischio stress lavoro-correlato nei MIFS del principale Policlinico Universitario della Sicilia, sottoposti a sorveglianza sanitaria. Materiali e Metodi: Studio trasversale condotto mediante questionario anonimo ed autosomministrato. Risultati: Il 45% dei MIFS di area clinica ed il 37% di area chirurgica usufruiscono del giorno di riposo compensativo a fronte del 92% dell’area dei servizi (p

In the contemporary society an International Health Elective (IHE) represents a strategic tool in order to implement future medical doctor’s education. In Italy, in the last decade, an increasing interest of trainees and residents to IHE and opportunities was documented and supported by the reorganization of the Italian residency programs, provided by the Ministry for Education, University and Research (MIUR). Aim of the present study was to collect data on perceived need of medical residents for an IHE. A structured questionnaire was developed and administered to medical residents of Palermo’s University who underwent their annual visit to the Occupational Health Physician Ambulatory (OHPA) of Palermo’s University Hospital, in the period between March and October 2011. Medical residents more prone to undergo an IHE were, younger than 29 years old (p

Introduzione Nell’attuale scenario mondiale, ricevere una formazione in salute globale (global health) e poter intraprendere una esperienza formativa in ambito internazionale (International Health Elective, IHE) rappresentano validi strumenti per migliorare il percorso educativo della futura classe medica. Pochi studi hanno valutato l’impatto che una IHE può esercitare nei confronti dei medici in formazione specialistica. Considerato che in Italia è stato riscontrato un interesse crescente nei confronti degli IHE, lo scopo dello studio è stato quello di analizzare i dati relativi alla percezione della necessità di svolgere esperienze formative internazionali in un campione di medici in formazione specialistica dell’Università degli Studi di Palermo. Materiali e Metodi E’ stato realizzato un questionario, strutturato in diverse sezioni, che è stato somministrato ai medici in formazione specialistica dell’Università degli Studi di Palermo che si sono recati, nel periodo tra Marzo ed Ottobre 2011, per la visita annuale presso l’ambulatorio del Medico Competente dell’Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico “Paolo Giaccone”. Risultati Il Su 918 medici in formazione specialistica, 414 hanno completato e consegnato il questionario (45.1%). Il 63.8% (n=264) dei medici intervistati ha manifestato la volontà di recarsi in un paese straniero per un periodo di formazione professionale. La principale ragione riportata per motivare la risposta è stata quella di avere migliori prospettive di crescita professionale. I medici in formazione specialistica maggiormente disposti a svolgere una IHE sono stati gli intervistati con meno di 29 anni (p

To the Editor: Gastroesophageal re ux disease (GERD) is an extremely common condition characterized by symptoms of heartburn and acid regurgitation. ˜ e etiopathogenetic steps of GERD remain largely unknown even though up to 20 % of the adult population in Western coun-tries is thought to be a( ected by re ux symptoms on a weekly basis (1) , natural-history studies indicate that patients with GERD symptoms su er from a chronic relapsing course of disease, with at least 50 % remaining on continuous medical therapy (2) , and the condition is known to predispose to an increased cancer risk. We know that GERD is caused by an abnormal contact of gastrointestinal contents with esophageal mucosa, and insu cient clearance of the esophageal body, lower esophageal sphinter incom-petence, and delayed gastric emptying have been identi- ed as putative patho-physiological mechanisms of disease, but the exact etiology of this backward displacement of gastrointestinal contents has yet to be elucidated. Because a possible role for food intol-erance in the etiology of GERD has not, to our knowledge, been investigated, and the so-called typical symptoms are con-sidered speci c, although not sensitive, for the diagnosis (3) , we decided to retro-spectively evaluate the results of a leuko-cytotoxic test for food intolerance using a panel of 60 foods (Allergoline Biotech & Research, Modena, Italy). ˜ e test was performed at the local center of a food ple that has come into direct contact with speci c food substances. On the basis of observation of the leukocytes, degrees of reaction to the food extracts are rated according to the following scale: level 0 = n egative ,level 1 = s lightly positive, level 2 = m oderately positive ,and level 3 = highly positive .˜ ese levels corre-spond to (i) the state of the leukocytes, which react by swelling, then developing research group, ACSIAN (Associazione Centro Studie Ricerche delle Intolleranze Alimentari e della Nutrizione) , from the date of the opening of the center in April 2007 to April 2008, in 16 patients su ering from typical GERD symp-toms (heartburn and regurgitation, in the absence of dysphagia) and 7 healthy subjects. ˜ is test is based on the optical evaluation of leukocytes in a blood sam